DATELINE: 21 June 2002

LOST CAVE DIVER FOUND ALIVE AFTER 6 HOURS
Diver Mark Orr was found alive inside an air pocket, 6 hours after becoming lost in a silt-out in a Florida cave.
Orr, an open water diver, was diving with 3 of his friends on 1 June in Marianna's Bat Cave, Florida, when silt destroyed the visibility and Orr became separated from both his buddies and the guideline which led to the exit.
None of the divers were trained in cave diving, but luckily Orr managed to find an air pocket inside the cave before his cylinders were empty. His friends found their way out of the cave and raised the alarm.
Scott Hunsucker, an experienced cave-trained diver, made his way into the cave system and began to search for Orr's body.
Six hours after becoming lost, the diver was found, having fallen asleep while waiting to be rescued.
The success of the rescue certainly beat the odds: while 500 divers have been lost in Florida caves since 1960, only 4 have been found alive.

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